updated 11:10 pm EDT, Mon October 24, 2011

webOS developer relations head jumps ship

HP's decision to quit webOS hardware had another ripple effect after its webOS Worldwide Developer Relations head Richard Kerris left the company. The departure is immediate and doesn't have a known replacement. While amicable, HP said he had left to take an "opportunity outside of the company," according to a statement.

No one has been named to replace Kerris so far.

The exit isn't likely to help HP, which has so far said it would keep the webOS software team inside but has given them little hope of being put to use on major projects now that phones and tablets are gone. A rumor of HP making a final decision in the past two weeks hasn't panned out. While the motivating factors aren't known, staff may be dissatisfied at the uncertainty and the knowledge that HP at best might use webOS as a PC dual-boot option or as a printer interface.

No clues exist as to who Kerris would join, although relatively close neighbors in the area include Apple and Google. Both companies have recruited from the webOS team, such as Apple landing notification designer Rich Dellinger for what ultimately led to iOS 5's notification system. The most important poach was Matias Duarte, who became Google's UI lead and is the driving force behind the interfaces of Android 3 and 4.

Kerris had at one point worked at Apple's Worldwide Developer Relations team. [viawebOSroundup]